LONGMONT -- Colorado Oil and Gas Association president Tisha Schuller said Tuesday that she'll be touring the state this summer to continue her trade association's efforts to cool down some of the more heated local discussions of oil and gas issues.

Too often, there's been "a polarization of the conversation" about oil and gas development in Colorado, Schuller told members of the Times-Call editorial board.

At one extreme, Schuller said, are people concerned about the impacts of oil and gas exploration, when they characterize producers as wanting only to "drill, baby, drill."

Colorado Oil & Gas Association CEO Tisha Schuller said she hopes to depolarize oil and gas issues in Colorado. The main thing we have to do initially, is listen to local concerns and then try to deal with them, sometimes using examples of how other Colorado communities have resolved similar issues, she said.
(
LEWIS GEYER
)

At the other extreme, she said, are industry supporters who automatically dismiss Coloradans' concerns as being driven solely by activists seeking to prohibit "fracking" -- the hydraulic fracturing process of injecting a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into underground shale formations to free up and extract oil and gas.

Schuller said that a year ago, more than 20 Colorado municipalities or counties were considering permanent bans or long-term moratoriums on drilling that involved that process.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission -- the state agency that regulates oil and gas development -- have been able to resolve most of those concerns raised by local governments and their constituents, she said.

Advertisement

In general, Schuller said, "everyone's found a way to navigate this territory."

She said that "the main thing we have to do initially, is listen" to local concerns and then try to deal with them, sometimes using examples of how other Colorado communities have resolved similar issues -- areas where she said people are "living in harmony" with oil and gas operations."

Schuller, who said she'll be meeting with other newspapers' editorial boards as well, added: "A lot of things can be addressed and are addressed" in that kind of process.

Longmont, however, has been an exception, she said.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission sued the city over new drilling regulations the City Council adopted last July, a lawsuit the Colorado Oil and Gas Association later joined. The industry association has separately sued the city over a fracking ban approved by Longmont voters in November.

Schuller, who lives in Boulder County's foothills, acknowledged Tuesday that this county has emerged as a hotbed in debates over oil and gas drilling.

On Tuesday night, the Lafayette City Council was to discuss hydraulic fracturing issues during a council work session, while the Boulder City Council was to consider an emergency ordinance establishing a one-year moratorium on accepting applications for drilling inside the city limits or on Boulder-owned open space outside the city. Tonight, Boulder County's Planning Commission and Board of County Commissioners are to review a staff-recommended process of phasing in a limited number of new oil and gas exploration sites after the county's moratorium on accepting new drilling applications expires June 10.

Schuller said advocates of a Boulder city moratorium appear to be making a largely symbolic point. A memo from that city's staff has noted that neither Boulder nor its Open Space and Mountain Parks Department has received a new oil and gas exploration permit application in more than 10 years.

As for Boulder County's proposal for slowly phasing in resumed drilling -- a process the county commissioners are to consider approving on Thursday -- Schuller said, "We're evaluating that right now."

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

Boulder is pretty good at producing rock bands, and by "rock," we mean the in-your-face, guitar-heavy, leather-clad variety — you know, the good kind. For a prime example, look no farther than BANDITS. Full Story